Lead Paint Inspections in Passaic County

Paterson, Passaic, Clifton, Haledon, Prospect Park. Three out of four homes in Passaic County were built before 1980, and almost 84,000 households rent. Our inspections are $125 to $150 per unit, lab included, whether your town calls for a visual or a dust wipe.

Request My Inspection Call 856-885-2241

Why Passaic County

Some of the oldest rental housing in New Jersey

77%of Passaic County homes built before 1980

58%of homes in Passaic City built before 1940

83,966renter households countywide

Passaic City is the extreme case. More than half its housing went up before 1940, and three out of four households rent.

Paterson has the volume. 36,441 renter households, more than Passaic City and Clifton combined, in a city where 77% of homes predate 1980. In Clifton, 84% of housing is pre-1980 and 13,593 households rent. Haledon and Prospect Park are small, and both are majority renter.

So in this county the NJ lead-safe certification law applies to most rental units, not a handful.

Visual or dust wipe

Two Passaic County towns require dust wipe sampling

The state decides the inspection method, town by town. Where at least 3% of tested children under six show elevated blood lead, NJ DCA requires dust wipe sampling. Everywhere else, a visual inspection meets the law. For 2025-26, Passaic County splits like this:

Town	Method	Renter households	Built before 1980
Paterson	Dust wipe	36,441	77%
Prospect Park	Dust wipe	1,198	96%
Passaic City	Visual	16,123	86%
Clifton	Visual	13,593	84%
Wayne	Visual	3,922	66%
Hawthorne	Visual	2,354	82%
Haledon	Visual	1,648	74%

Notice Passaic City. It has the oldest housing in the county and still gets a visual, because the method follows children's blood lead data, not building age. Don't assume. In Paterson, a visual-only inspection doesn't meet the law.

Sources: NJ DCA 2025-26 Lead-Based Paint Inspection Methodology list; N.J.A.C. 5:28A (inspection cycle, tenant turnover and exemptions); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Cost

What a lead inspection costs with us in Passaic County

$125 to $150 per unit, and the lab fee for dust wipe samples is included. A Paterson three-family is $375 to $450 for the whole building. Portfolios of five units or more get bulk pricing.

For how NJ inspection pricing is put together, see the NJ lead inspection cost breakdown.

Coverage

Every town in Passaic County

Paterson, Passaic, Clifton, Wayne, Hawthorne, Woodland Park, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park, Little Falls, Totowa, Wanaque, Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, and West Milford. All 16 municipalities.

The northern end of the county is a different market. In West Milford only 11% of households rent, and in Ringwood it's 4%.

Common questions

Passaic County questions we get

My building is in Paterson. What does dust wipe sampling change?

Wipe samples are taken from floors and interior window sills in each unit and sent to a certified lab. The unit passes or fails on the lab numbers, not on what the inspector can see. Our price is still $125 to $150 per unit with the lab included.

Passaic City's houses are older than Paterson's. Why is Passaic City visual only?

The state assigns the method from children's blood lead test data, not the age of the housing. Passaic City fell under the 3% threshold on the 2025-26 list and Paterson did not. The list is reissued, so check the current version for your town.

Do Clifton rentals need lead-safe certification?

If the unit was built before 1978 and isn't exempt, yes. With 84% of Clifton's housing built before 1980, that covers most rentals in town. Clifton is a visual inspection town on the current list.

How often do I need to recertify a Passaic County rental?

Every three years, or at tenant turnover, whichever comes first. Turnover means the previous tenants move out and a new tenant moves in, so a renewal with the same tenant doesn't count.

What happens if a unit fails?

Until the hazards are fixed, the unit can't be certified. Side by Side also offers lead remediation, and the unit is inspected again afterward.

Next door: Essex County, Bergen County and Morris County. Statute details and penalties: NJ lead law reference.